The irish word for ireland

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Éire (Irish: [ˈeːɾʲə] (listen)) is Irish for «Ireland», the name of both an island in the North Atlantic and the sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland which governs 84% of the island’s landmass. The latter is distinct from Northern Ireland, which covers the remainder of the northeast of the island. The same name is also sometimes used in English ( AIR-ə).

Etymology[edit]

The modern Irish Éire evolved from the Old Irish word Ériu, which was the name of Ireland and of a Gaelic goddess. Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or simply a goddess of the land. Ériu has been derived from reconstructed Archaic Irish *Īweriū,^[1][2] and further from the Proto-Celtic *Φīwerjon- (nominative singular Φīwerjū).^[3] This suggests descent from the Proto-Indo-European *piHwerjon- («fertile land» or «abundant land»),^[1] from the adjective *piHwer- («fat») – cognate with Ancient Greek píeira and Sanskrit pīvarī, («fat, full, abounding»).^[1] The Archaic Irish form was borrowed into Ancient Greek. During his exploration of northwest Europe (circa 320 BCE), Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne (written Ἰέρνη).
The Pseudo-Aristotelian text On the Universe (393b) has:

Ἐν τούτῳ γε μὴν νῆσοι μέγισται τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι δύο, Βρεττανικαὶ λεγόμεναι, Ἀλβίων καὶ Ἰέρνη.

Translation: There are two very large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne.^[4] (modern Great Britain and Ireland).

In his book Geographia (circa 150 CE), Claudius Ptolemaeus called the island Iouernia (written Ἰουερνία; ou represented /w/) and named a tribal group called the (Ἰούερνοι, Iouernoi or Iverni who lived in the southwest.^[1] This was borrowed into Latin as Hibernia.

The evolution of the word would follow as such:

• Proto-Celtic *Φīwerjon- (nominative singular *Φīwerjū)
  • Archaic Irish *Īweriū
    • Old Irish Ériu
      • Modern Irish Éire

An Old Irish by-form of this placename was íriu, meaning «land, earth».^[1] In Irish mythology, Íth is the first of the Milesians (Irish) to see Ireland from Iberia. Later, he is the first to step ashore and praises the island’s abundance, saying to the Tuatha Dé Danann: «You dwell in a good land. Abundant are its mast and honey and wheat and fish».^[1]

A 19th-century proposal, which does not follow modern standards of etymology, derives the name from Scottish Gaelic: ì (island) + thiar (west) + fónn (land), which together give ì-iar-fhónn, or «westland isle».^[5] The etymology fails in that tiar (the historical form) has no *téir forms which would allow the development of the *é of Éire; moreover, Old Irish í («island») was a late loanword from Old Norse ey («island»), and so did not exist in prehistoric Ireland.

Difference between Éire and Erin[edit]

While Éire is simply the name for the island of Ireland in the Irish language, and sometimes used in English, Erin is a common poetic name for Ireland, as in Erin go bragh. The distinction between the two is one of the difference between cases of nouns in Irish. Éire is the nominative case, the case that is used for nouns that are the subject of a sentence, i.e., the noun that is doing something as well as the direct object of a sentence. Erin derives from Éirinn, the Irish dative case of Éire, which has replaced the nominative case in Déise Irish and some non-standard sub-dialects elsewhere, in Scottish Gaelic (where the usual word for Ireland is Èirinn) and Manx (like Irish and Scottish Gaelic, a Goidelic Celtic language), where the word is spelled «Nerin,» with the initial n- probably representing a fossilisation of the preposition in/an «in» (cf. Irish in Éirinn, Scottish an Èirinn/ann an Èirinn «in Ireland»). The genitive case, Éireann (e.g. stair na hÉireann «the history of Ireland, Ireland’s history»), is found in the Gaelic forms of the titles of companies and institutions in Ireland e.g. Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament), Poblacht na hÉireann (The Republic of Ireland) or Tuaisceart Éireann (Northern Ireland).

As a state name[edit]

Article 4 of the Irish constitution adopted in 1937 by the government under Éamon de Valera states «Éire is the name of the state, or in the English language, Ireland«.^[6] The Constitution’s English-language preamble also describes the population as «We, the people of Éire». Despite the fact that Article 8 designated Irish as the «national» and «first official» language, Éire has to some extent passed out of everyday conversation and literature, and the state is referred to as Ireland or its equivalent in all other languages.
The name «Éire» has been used on Irish postage stamps since 1922;^[7] on all Irish coinage (including Irish euro coins); and together with «Ireland» on passports and other official state documents issued since 1937. «Éire» is used on the Seal of the President of Ireland.

Initially, after 1937 the United Kingdom insisted on using only the name «Eire» and refused to accept the name «Ireland». It adopted the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938 putting in law that position. At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London the organisers insisted that the Irish team march under the banner «Eire» notwithstanding that every other team was marching according to what their name was in English.^[8] The UK Government generally avoided all reference to «Ireland» in connection with the state and used what Senator Thomas O’Connell described as «sneering titles such as Eirish».^[9] However, the term «Eirish» was also used by some writers in the US, who referred to «the Eirish people».^[10] Using the genitive form Éireann as an adjective, the UK media would refer to «Eireann Ministers»^[11] and the «Eireann Army».^[12] The Ireland Act 1949 changed this to «Republic of Ireland». It was not until after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that the UK government accepted the preferred name of simply «Ireland», at the same time as the Republic of Ireland dropped its territorial claim over Northern Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Before the 1937 Constitution, «Saorstát Éireann» (the Irish name of the Irish Free State) was generally used.^[13]

During the Emergency (as the Second World War was known), Irish ships had «EIRE» (and the Irish tricolour) painted large on their sides and deck, to identify them as neutrals.

In the 1947 Sinn Féin Funds case, a co-defendant was cited as «the Attorney General of Eire» in the High and Supreme Court cases, and there were similar cases where «Eire» was used in the late 1940s as a descriptor of the state in English.^[14]

In 1922–1938 the international plate on Irish cars was «SE». From 1938 to 1962 it was marked «EIR», short for Éire. In 1961 statutory instrument no. 269 allowed «IRL»,^[15] and by 1962 «IRL» had been adopted. Irish politician Bernard Commons TD suggested to the Dáil in 1950 that the Government examine «the tourist identification plate bearing the letters EIR … with a view to the adoption of identification letters more readily associated with this country by foreigners».^[16] «EIR» is also shown in other legislation such as the car insurance statutory instrument no. 383 of 1952 and no. 82 of 1958.^[17][18]

Under the 1947 Convention Irish-registered aircraft have carried a registration mark starting «EI» for Éire.

From January 2007, the Irish Government nameplates at meetings of the European Union have borne both Éire and Ireland, following the adoption of Irish as a working language of the European Union.

Spelling Eire rather than Éire[edit]

In 1938 the British government provided in the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938 that British legislation would henceforth refer to the Irish Free State as «Eire» (but not as «Ireland»). This was altered by the Ireland Act 1949, where the English-law name of the state was changed to «Republic of Ireland».^[19] The 1938 Act was repealed in 1981, and in 1996 a British journalist described Eire as «now an oddity rarely used, an out-of-date reference».^[20]

Within Ireland however, the spelling «Eire» was incorrect. When Irish language texts were printed in Gaelic type, both capital and lower-case letters were printed with diacritics (written accents). From the later 1940s, in conjunction with other reforms, printing switched to the same «Roman type» used for most other Latin alphabet languages.^{[clarification needed]} There was some uncertainty about whether the síneadh fada (acute accent) should be written on upper-case letters. While it was preserved in all-Irish texts, it was often omitted when short fragments of Irish appeared alone or in English texts. Noel Davern asked in the Dáil in 1974 why Irish stamps had EIRE rather than ÉIRE. The reply from the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was:^[21]

The accent has been omitted on most Irish stamps issued over the past ten years in the interests of artistic balance and in accordance with a common practice in the printing of Irish in Roman script for display purposes. This is a prevailing typographical convention and is common to several European languages, including French.

Davern considered EIRE to be worse than a misspelling, because eire is a word in its own right, meaning «a burden, load or encumbrance».^[21][22] The minister stated, «The word on the stamp … does not mean ‘eire’ and it is not understood to mean ‘eire’ by anybody except Davern.»^[21] Stamps later used a Gaelic type with the accent preserved.

English rarely uses diacritics for English words, and often omits them from written loanwords from any source language; the acute accent is often omitted when ÉIRE is written in English—in that context, the omission or expression is regarded by English speakers who do not speak Irish as a negligible variation, reflecting two accepted spellings without further implication, in the same way as Mexico and México are seen as being the same. But for an Irish-speaker the diacritic changes the pronunciation.

Other uses[edit]

Éire has been incorporated into the names of Irish commercial and social entities, such as Eir (formerly Eircom and Telecom Éireann) and its former mobile phone network, Eircell.^[23] Ireland’s postal code system is known as Eircode. In 2006 the Irish electricity network was devolved to EirGrid. The company «BetEire Flow» (eFlow), named as a pun on «better», is a French consortium running the electronic tolling system at the West-Link bridge west of Dublin.^[24] According to the Dublin Companies Registration Office in 2008, over 500 company names incorporate the word Éire in some form.^[25]

Footnotes[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Noel Browne, Against the Tide
• Constitution of Ireland (1937)
• Stephen Collins, The Cosgrave Legacy
• Tim Pat Coogan, De Valera (Hutchinson, 1993)
• Brian Farrell, De Valera’s Constitution and Ours
• F.S.L. Lyons, Ireland since the Famine
• David Gwynn Morgan, Constitutional Law of Ireland
• Tim Murphy and Patrick Twomey (eds.) Ireland’s Evolving Constitution: 1937–1997 Collected Essays (Hart, 1998) ISBN 1-901362-17-5
• Alan J. Ward, The Irish Constitutional Tradition: Responsible Government and Modern Ireland 1782–1992 (Irish Academic Press, 1994) ISBN 0-7165-2528-3

A poetic name for Ireland was Roisin Dubh.

Róisín Dubh, meaning «Black Rose», written in the 16th century, is one of Ireland’s most famous political songs. It is based on an older love-lyric in which referred to the poet’s beloved rather than, as here, being a metaphor for Ireland. The intimate tone of the original carries over into the political song. It is often attributed to Antoine Ó Raifteiri, but almost certainly predates him. Originally translated from the Irish language by James Clarence Mangan.

The song is named after Róisín Dubh, probably one of the daughters of Hugh O’Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, Earl of Tyrone in the late 16th Century. The song is reputed to have originated in the camps of Red Hugh O’Donnell.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B3is%C3%ADn_Dubh_%28song%29

So where does the name Ireland come from? Well, the name evolved over many centuries from the old Irish word for a Goddess; Ériu, as she was called, has been described as the matron Goddess of ancient Irish mythology.

The modern Irish language name for Ireland is “Éire” and is derived from Ériu. The English version ‘Ireland’ comes from the last three letters of the name ‘Ire’ with the suffix ‘land’ tacked onto the end.

And that isn’t the only name the country’s been called.

“Erin”, which is derived from the Irish language word ‘Éireann’, is used in place of ‘Éire’ when the noun is in the genitive case e.g. ‘Poblacht na hÉireann’ which means ‘Republic of Ireland’, or ‘muintir na hÉireann’ which means ‘people of Ireland’.  

The word historically has also been a popular way to describe the island. Considered more romantic — and not something you’d hear on a day to day basis -it is often used in poetry such as William Drennan’s ‘When Erin First Rose’.

Another even more antiquated way of describing Ireland is ‘Hibernia’ which is the word the Romans used to describe Ireland. It survives today in the name of a number of organizations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

When Ireland was partitioned in 1921 by the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the southern 26 counties were dubbed ‘The Irish Free State’.

The Easter Rising had declared an ‘Irish Republic’ but that name was never going to fly with British negotiators — not least when the British Monarch was to remain King of Ireland — so Free State would have to do.

The British Prime Minister at the time, Lloyd George, is said to have asked Michael Collins what the Irish for ‘republic’ was. When the rebel leader didn’t know — Collins was never very proficient at Irish — the Welshman scoffed that there was no such word in his native Welsh either and wasn’t that proof enough the Celts were destined for monarchical government?

The six counties that remained part of the United Kingdom were christened ‘Northern Ireland’, although many soon began to call it simply ‘Ulster’ in an attempt to downplay the Irishness of the province.

Today Article 4 of the 1937 Constitution says “The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.” For many years that meant the Irish state was described as “Eire” by many British politicians even though the English language name was preferred in English.

When written without the accent, ‘Eire’ does not mean ‘Ireland’ but is in fact the Irish for ‘burden’ — an important distinction to make.  

Use of ‘Éire’ within an international context began to decline after the legal proclamation of a republic in 1949 and many consider it rather a snooty way to refer to the Republic. In an international context, the southern state is usually just called ‘Ireland’ and sometimes the Republic of Ireland to distinguish it from the north.

After the Republic was declared, the British Government considered changing Northern Ireland’s name to ‘Ulster’ officially but eventually declined.

Today, all but hardcore unionists who prefer ‘Ulster’ and strict republicans who say ‘the six counties’ or ‘the north’ use the official terms.

* Originally published in 2017. Updated in 2022.

In Gaelic myth, Ériu, Banbha and Fódla were three goddesses who greeted the Milesians upon their arrival in Ireland, and who granted them custody of the island.

Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or simply a goddess of the land. The origin of Ériu has been traced to the Proto-Celtic (800 B.C.) reconstruction.

Hibernia (ancient name and Latin variant): apparently assimilated to Latin hibernus («wintry»).

Ireland is known as Eirinn in Scottish Gaelic, from a grammatical case of Éire. In the fellow Celtic languages: in Welsh it is Iwerddon; in Cornish it is Ywerdhon or Worthen; and in Breton it is Iwerzhon.

In Gaelic bardic tradition Ireland is also known by the poetical names of Banbha (meaning «piglet») and Fódhla. The Proto-Indo-European reconstruction of the Irish language suggests a meaning of «abundant land».

It is highly likely that explorers borrowed and modified this term. During his exploration of northwest Europe (circa 320 B.C.), Pytheas of Massilia (350 B.C. — 285 B.C.) called the island Ierne. In his book Geographia (circa A.D. 150), Claudius Ptolemaeus (A.D. 90 — A.D. 168) called the island Iouernia. Based on these historical accounts, the Roman Empire called the island Hibernia.

While Éire is simply the name for the island of Ireland in the Irish language, and sometimes used in English, Erin is a common poetic name for Ireland, as in «Erin go bragh.» The distinction between the two is one of the difference between cases of nouns in Irish.

But once they got going in the name game, monikers fairly cascaded in: Éire, Erin, the Emerald Isle, the Republic, Land of Saints and Scholars — and whatever you’re having yourself.

The terms Republic of Ireland (ROI), the Republic, the 26 counties or the South are the alternative names most often encountered.

What do we call Ireland?

Republic of Ireland

What Green nickname does Ireland go by?

the Emerald Isle
Ireland has long been known as the Emerald Isle. Drennan’s poem was the first time Ireland was referred to in this way in print, but it’s easy to see why this nickname has stuck with the island for so long. Ireland is famous for its lush, rolling green hills.

What is the nickname for Dublin?

The Pale
List

How are you in Irish slang?

Grand (an iconic bit of Irish slang) Grand means OK. You’ll hear it most commonly used as a response to, ‘How’s it going’/’How are you feeling? ‘/’How are you today?

Why is Ireland called Erin?

Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word “Éirinn”.
Erin.

Who owns Ireland?

the United Kingdom
The island of Ireland comprises the Republic of Ireland, which is a sovereign country, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland endured a hard-fought birth.

What does the girl name Ireland mean?

Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Ireland
Ireland received her name from the early Érainn people – essentially evolving from the ancient Celtic Φīwerjū to the Old Irish Ériu to the modern Éire (Erin) – and is said to mean “land of abundance; fertile land” in reference to the island’s lush landscape.

What Is an Irish emerald?

A stone not native to Ireland – even though Ireland is referred to as the Emerald Isle and Emeralds are used widely in Irish Jewelry, Emeralds are in fact largely from Colombia and their association to Ireland is purely thanks to their vivid green color.

Why are there no snakes in Ireland?

The island was too cold for snakes during the last Ice Age, up until about 10,000 years ago. And it has been separated from Europe for some time — unlike Britain, which had a land bridge up until about 6,500 years ago — so snakes couldn’t get there once things warmed up.

Is Ireland on the flag?

Flag of Ireland

What is a nickname for an Irishman?

1. Micks. Since many Irish last names begin with Mc or Mac, if follows that this nickname became one (derogatory) way to refer to the Irish.

What do you call an Irish boy?

Irish Translation. buachaill. More Irish words for boy. giobóg noun. boy, scarecrow.

What is the nickname for Wicklow?

The Garden County
Wicklow — The Garden County.

What do Irish call babies?

What does bairn mean? Bairn is a Scottish or Northern English word for child.

Is Shenanigans an Irish word?

Although “shenanigan,” for instance, meaning trickery or mischief, is often attributed to the Irish Gaelic “sionnachuighim,” meaning “I play the fox,” others claim it derives from an American Indian word.

What is Goodnight Irish?

Sleep well! Codladh sámh!

What do the Irish say before drinking?

So how do you say “Cheers”? “Cheers” in Irish is sláinte which is pronounced a bit like “slawn-che”. Sláinte means “health”, and if you’re feeling brave, you can say sláinte is táinte (“slawn-che iss toin-che”), meaning “health and wealth”. “Cheers” is one of the words included in lesson 10 of our course.

What did the Irish call the Vikings?

Vikings in Ireland. France and Ireland as well. In these areas they became known as the “Norsemen” (literally, north-men) and laterally as the “Vikings”. They called themselves “Ostmen”.

Is Ireland a poor country?

In terms of GDP per capita, Ireland is ranked as one of the wealthiest countries in the OECD and the EU-27, at 4th in the OECD-28 rankings.